The Passing of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, 2022, at 96 was expected but still a milestone. She ruled longer than Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria, and except for Louis XIV is the longest reigning monarch in history. As a young girl I watched her fairy tale coronation in 1953, with awe, and followed, with interest, her complicated life.

Elizabeth was greatly respected and appreciated by leaders, including Nelson Mandela, and others around the world

                      Charles III will be a very different monarch. 

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As elsewhere, we are striving for togetherness and unity in this divided world. We enjoyed a brunch with about 100 women and young women of our ward (congregation) at church on September 11. We had slightly cooler weather, and are fortunate to have an outdoor pavilion.

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I had not been back to Palo Alto, California, since I moved to Utah the end of January 2021, so was thrilled to see old friends in several venues. I drove there with Paul and Sara Gilman and Tom Taylor, who also moved to Provo, and then flew home a few days later. My neighbor Jackie Geist gathered dear neighborhood friends, "The Evergreen Girls," many I have known for 45 years, for brunch. 

  

    Other ward friends met at Monajo Ellsworth's home for lunch

I also walked around town and visited with many others, and attended the Broadway musical Moulin Rouge in San Francisco with Karen Bradshaw and the Augustines. The show and company were fun, but I was truly appalled by the huge number of homeless, aimless people on the streets in the area of the Orpheum Theater. The pandemic has increased the destitution of these people. What can be done??

 Many of us attended the memorial service for George Parry who passed away June 3. We were moved by songs, talks, and stories, by his wife Wendy and their children. We met, appropriately, at Foothills Park where we have picnicked, played, camped, and celebrated many holidays and other occasions over the years. Even the deer came out!

Long time members and friends in our ward: Peter and Leanne Giles, Hank Taylor, Don and Helen Nielson, Monajo Ellsworth

I stayed with Ken and Sue Allen. Andy Chiang and wife Catherine  provided wonderful snacks. (No photos) but I finally met the lovely family who bought my house, and Matteo, the Italian student with whom I have zoom-conversed for 2 years, but had never met in person.

Another highlight was dinner with dear long-time friends at Nanci and Darryl Thomander's home. Russ and Marguerite Hancock  came straight from the airport from Bismark, North Dakota, where Russ played Rachmaninoff's II piano concerto, with the Bismark symphony. He gave us a taste of this beautiful music. If you are in the Bay Area you might watch for his concerts, also with Saint Michael Trio! He is amazing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiQhimi6SHU

I came home and enjoyed a delicious Japanese dinner to celebrate grandson George Taylor's 17th birthday. His ultimate frisbee team recently won the national championship!

 Our family is waiting for grandson Nicolas de Schweinitz to open his mission call on Saturday. Where will he serve? Until recently, calls were received by letter. Now by email! Every Tuesday I volunteer at the mission training center and am thrilled to see the anticipation and vitality of these young men and women who spend 18-24 months of their young lives to spread the restored gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. People everywhere are searching for meaning in life and God's peace, love, acceptance and belonging. Many, sadly, don't know where to find it. I'm so grateful for my testimony that it is possible to find these things amidst the chaos almost everywhere in today's world.